Prince Donghai arrived promptly when summoned, trying hard to appear nonchalant but unable to hide the gloom and resentment in his heart.

“Did your wife lecture you again?” Han Ruzi asked.

Prince Donghai glanced at the two guards and Liu Jie, the Director of Palace Attendants, in the tent. “Your Majesty is moving too hastily. You didn’t give any preparation time. The Tan family, dozens of them, from elderly in their seventies and eighties to young ones just three or four years old, were forced to leave immediately. They couldn’t even eat breakfast. It’s absolutely miserable.”

Han Ruzi turned to ask Liu Jie, “Is that true?”

Liu Jie bowed and replied, “The Tan family consists of forty-seven members plus ten servants. The eldest is sixty-three, the youngest eight. All are healthy with no ailments. The imperial edict was delivered at the first quarter of the fifth watch this morning, and they left their residence at the first quarter of the seventh watch, taking about two hours. They carried fifty gold ingots, silver ingots-“

Han Ruzi raised his hand to indicate that was enough. “I heard everyone in the Tan family practices martial arts. It seems true. With their wealth, a sudden journey shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

Prince Donghai’s face alternated between pale and flushed. He stammered, “It was what my wife said… Why has Your Majesty summoned me?”

Han Ruzi made a gesture, and Liu Jie and the two guards bowed and withdrew.

Han Ruzi stood up and walked around Prince Donghai, saying, “You’re not happy about this, are you?”

Prince Donghai’s already poor complexion worsened dramatically. “You- if Your Majesty wants to eliminate me, just say so directly. If the emperor wants a subject dead, there’s no need to fabricate crimes. Just grant me death – hanging, suicide, suffocation, or give me some poison, the fast-acting kind. After all, that’s how my mother died. We mother and son-“

Prince Donghai couldn’t continue. Han Ruzi smiled, “Don’t panic. I won’t act so quickly.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty… eh? You still plan to act?”

“Tell me, what moves are the Tan family making? They won’t just submit to their fate, will they?” Han Ruzi’s expression turned serious.

“I- is Your Majesty asking me to betray the Tan family?”

“I’m asking you to save their lives. I won’t show mercy to the Tan family again,” Han Ruzi said coldly. During the general amnesty, he couldn’t single out the Tan family for punishment, but he had been watching the “Commoner Tan” family, believing they wouldn’t simply become obedient.

“I- I really don’t know. I only overheard some casual talk that the Tan family seems to be writing letters asking someone for help.”

“Who?”

“I really don’t know that. They don’t even consider me part of the Tan family anymore.” Prince Donghai sighed deeply. Since losing the succession struggle, his status in the Tan family had plummeted.

Han Ruzi felt he couldn’t get any more information, so he returned to his chair and sat silently for a while before suddenly saying, “Why don’t you try to escape?”

Prince Donghai almost jumped in fright. “You just said you wouldn’t act quickly, why have you changed your mind now?”

“This army moves too slowly. I want to leave camp to join Chai Yue, but I need a suitable excuse to bypass those who rigidly follow convention.”

“You’re the emperor! Can’t you just issue an edict? Who would dare disobey?”

“Everyone would obey, but afterward, they’d compromise my orders in the name of safety. I don’t want to waste time fighting them over this right now, so-“

Prince Donghai stared at the emperor. “How do I know Your Majesty doesn’t have other intentions, or that this won’t turn from pretense to reality, truly charging me with the crime of desertion?”

“If I really did that, you’d have no choice anyway,” Han Ruzi smiled. Gaining Prince Donghai’s trust was impossible and unnecessary.

“I- I’ll go prepare.”

“You can’t always let your wife make decisions for you. This must be kept from the Tan family. Stay here, we’ll leave shortly.”

Though Prince Donghai felt it was dangerous no matter how he thought about it, he dared not object. “If that’s the case… fine, I agree. My life is in your hands anyway, but I must say something first.”

“Speak.”

“If Your Majesty leaves camp without authorization, and if someone – you know who – takes advantage to cause trouble, Your Majesty can’t blame me or claim I planned it, because this was all your idea.”

Han Ruzi knew who “you know who” referred to. “Cui Hong? Without you, he has no banner to rally under. Given his cautious nature, he absolutely wouldn’t cause trouble at this time. On the contrary, he’d immediately follow us to show his loyalty.”

“Your Majesty trusts Cui Hong that much? He’s my uncle, but I don’t trust him at all.”

Han Ruzi winked. “I have a plan.”

Prince Donghai was taken aback, feeling that the person before him didn’t quite seem like an emperor. He couldn’t help saying, “This is no joking matter. Your Majesty’s foundation isn’t stable. If something unexpected happens, there are few in the court who would side with you.”

“It’s like warfare. The court side has many people and excellent weapons, but no horses – they move slowly. Our side has far fewer people and inferior weapons, but we have horses and can move swiftly. In a direct confrontation, we would surely lose. That’s why we must fight on horseback, maintaining a distance that’s neither too close nor too far, making the court follow us rather than us following them.”

Prince Donghai was stunned for a moment. “That’s the Xiongnu way of fighting.”

“It doesn’t matter whose strategy it is. What matters is winning.”

“Will Your Majesty clear my name afterward?”

“Your desertion will be just a rumor. If I don’t pursue it, who would dare bring it up?”

Prince Donghai thought carefully for a while and decided to find a reliable witness. “Let’s bring in Cui Teng.”

Cui Teng arrived promptly. Having previously encountered Chai Yue at White Bridge Town with a small Northern Army force and many banners, he had been deeply impressed by his brother-in-law, not realizing it had been a coincidence – Chai Yue hadn’t had time to lead his main force south and had used this bluffing tactic, which coincidentally aligned with the Weary Marquis’s strategy.

When told about sneaking out of camp, Cui Teng agreed without hesitation, eager to depart immediately.

At the fourth watch that night, the emperor suddenly led out a thousand elite troops, with only thirty guards and no personal eunuchs. His tent was left with a pile of unprocessed memorials and half-written letters.

By the time the entire camp realized what had happened, half an hour had passed. Rumors spread that Prince Donghai had fled in the night and the emperor had gone in pursuit, leaving orders for Grand General Cui Hong to command the army.

Cui Hong was shocked but felt reassured upon finding a half-written letter in the emperor’s tent suggesting the empress was with child.

Cui Hong immediately sent men to pursue the emperor, then reorganized the army, leaving the rear guard and numerous nobles to depart normally while he led the main force to set out immediately.

Han Ruzi could finally gallop freely without constraints again.

It was early spring, with melting snow making the ground slightly soft – perfect conditions for horseback riding.

Shortly after daybreak, the thousand-strong force reached Shang County, where a campsite had already been prepared outside the city. Under normal marching conditions, this would have been the emperor’s second-day stop, only several miles from the previous camp.

The emperor’s sudden arrival startled the officials at the camp. Han Ruzi spoke little, asking only a few ambiguous questions that led them to believe he was pursuing someone. He ordered his soldiers to eat quickly, change their tired horses, and continue onward. The county magistrate and other officials who had rushed over only heard the sound of departing hoofbeats.

This thousand-strong force, still half Northern Army and half Southern Army, had all participated in the North Gate Battle under the Weary Marquis and followed the emperor’s orders without question.

The elderly general Fang Daye hadn’t come along – he was too old, and his presence in the central army served as oversight for Cui Hong.

The subsequent camps were still spaced ten to thirty miles apart. At this rate, it would take ten days to reach Hangu Pass – Cui Hong had indeed been extremely cautious.

Since this was an personal campaign by the Emperor, all localities had received orders and made preparations early, making this stretch of the journey quite smooth. They could advance quickly with light gear, resting only six hours at night. Local officials kept watch outside all night, puzzled by the emperor’s behavior but too low-ranking to seek an audience or ask questions.

Prince Donghai was exhausted. He chose a tent at random, went in, collapsed, and fell asleep without eating.

Cui Teng had more energy and chatted with the officials outside the camp. As the empress’s elder brother and the emperor’s trusted companion, despite holding no specific office, he was highly respected. Upon returning to camp, he was pleased and said to the emperor, “Excellent, excellent. This trip was absolutely the right decision.”

Han Ruzi only slept for about four hours when messengers sent by Cui Hong caught up with them – not just one, but three in succession. The first one pleaded in the Grand General’s name for the emperor to stay put and wait for the main army. The subsequent letters bore increasingly more officials’ signatures, including even Fang Daye’s.

Han Ruzi knew what the letters would say, so he only skimmed them briefly before setting them aside. Instead, he questioned the messengers carefully about the army’s situation and distance. After confirming that Cui Hong was leading troops right behind them, he felt more at ease.

He was playing a dangerous game, but only this way could they achieve a swift resolution.

Before dawn, a messenger from Vanguard General Chai Yue also arrived. After reading the letter, Han Ruzi ordered the entire army to move out.

As the Empress Dowager had predicted, Shang-guan Sheng didn’t defend Hangu Pass, but set it on fire and fled with his troops.

Chai Yue had already led his forces into the pass, extinguished the flames, and gathered the remnants of Grand General Han Xing’s troops while awaiting the emperor’s orders.

According to the original plan, if Shang-guan Sheng fled, Chai Yue was supposed to remain at Hangu Pass until he had gathered ten thousand soldiers before making further plans.

After another non-stop journey, Han Ruzi reached Hangu Pass that afternoon, even earlier than he had planned.

Shang-guan Sheng had fled in such haste that the fire he set wasn’t thorough and was quickly extinguished. Chai Yue had gathered nearly ten thousand men, combining Han Xing’s remaining troops with his own forces. He had planned to set out early the next morning, but was startled by the emperor’s arrival.

At Hangu Pass, Han Ruzi received bad news: Shang-guan Sheng had indeed gathered a group of refugees, claiming he would attack Luoyang, open the granaries, and save the world.

“Shang-guan Sheng must have an able advisor,” Han Ruzi could only conclude.

“It definitely isn’t Lin Kunshan – he doesn’t have such capability,” Prince Donghai said.

Chai Yue had also found Han Xing’s guards, whose information confirmed Han Ruzi’s earlier suspicions. Someone had indeed delivered a sword, and after seeing it, Han Xing immediately summoned this person, resulting in his assassination. Afterward, both the assassin and the sword had vanished.

“Luoyang’s walls are thick and its moats deep. Shang-guan Sheng can’t take it. He only needs to stay for three days before our armies can surround him,” Chai Yue was confident about defeating Shangguan Sheng.

However, Han Ruzi worried that Shangguan Sheng’s plan wasn’t so simple. He ordered Chai Yue not to wait any longer but to march immediately with however many troops he could take, leaving the rest at Hangu Pass for the emperor to reorganize.

Chai Yue led six thousand troops and departed that night.

Prince Donghai had stayed by the emperor’s side, and when there was a quiet moment, he hesitantly said, “I told you I didn’t know before because I only just remembered – the Tan family mentioned something about Luoyang. Their source of help might be there.”

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